News & Comment

As scientists, are the decisions we make all about weighing up cold hard facts or does the last time we ate come into play? Bruce Gibb offers us some food for thought.

Michelle Francl wonders how much time chemists should spend learning history.

The historical context in which a scientific paper is published is an important factor that should not be overlooked, suggest Qian Wang and Chris Toumey.

Two constitutional isomers with exceptionally similar structures have had very different impacts in chemistry and beyond. With this example, Bruce Gibb highlights just how difficult it is to predict how much a particular compound or piece of chemical research will contribute to society, especially in the short term.

Michelle Francl wants a chemistry book that could conjure up Linus Pauling.

Could short, non-traditional sabbaticals help scientists better organize their research groups and make improvements to their laboratory's IT infrastructure? Bruce Gibb ponders this question.

Michelle Francl thinks that new science words should have a touch of swagger and a whiff of mystery.

Bruce Gibb ponders a future without chemistry departments — and explains why this is a good thing.

Bloggers shouldn't be relegated to the sidelines of the scientific literature, argues Michelle Francl.